Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Keep a light with you this solstice, but stay far away from the smoke alarm.

Last year I released a pair of antlers so fabulous, they had to be limited so they could be coveted and worshiped as they deserved. Yet all through the year I've been asked about them, and I've been biding my time until the solstice to give them an heir.

These are by no means as epic or awe-inspiring as the Odocoleinae Lumina, I mean for starters you can actually see yourself in frame when you take a picture of them. But they are beautiful, regal, elegant and distinctive, as well as festive in their own right. Drips of wax hang down from the angular reaches of the antlers and get in your hair, and the delicate flickers of glowing flames illuminate your way so you don't need a flashlight. These are scripted to change the antler's texture as always, but they also change the texture of the candles to black, silver, or dark brown wax. You can easily turn the actual candle light off or on through the menu as well.

These are not limited, they're a permanent addition to my antlers collection, so you can breath a sigh of relief that you have time to nab them. If you missed the Odocoleinae Lumina, you can still have these :) And they're 375L, as opposed to the 1750L of the limited edition.

If you're a purist and the candles aren't your thing, or maybe you're a bit short on cash, the plain ones are also available for 250L :)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

I have another festive goodie! I'm not actually sure why, but bells are really associated with Christmas. Maybe it's a symbol of churches calling people together or they're the proverbial jingle bells, but here's a pretty bell you can wear on your neck that isn't attached to a neko collar.

Festive holly along with a delicately tied ribbon decorate this lovely golden bell. But the best part about this jewelry set? It's only 50L, so even if you only wear it a few times you can still get your money's worth out of it :)~

I also set out a box of holiday goodies for free, which include a remake of my holly jewelry and some ornaments and mini reindeer antlers. I'll blog the contents tomorrow, but you can still pick it up today!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Since I released them last year, my antlers have been one of the items I see most often when I'm walking around or browsing fashion blogs. I love the whimsical quality they can add to avatars and they can make a perfectly realistic outfit have a taste of wild fantasy. Antlers are just visually delicious, and I really can't get enough of them.

So I've finally returned to well-trodden ground which I think a lot of people were hoping I would, and created a completely new set utilizing my freshly developed oblong sculpt skillz.

Inspired by Allegory Malaprop (Schadenfreude) and her own curly antlers, I got her blessing to create my own rendition. Taste wise, she and I cover a lot of the same ground. Florissinae isn't an actual genus of deer obviously, if it ever was they would have been hunted down long ago for their awesome headgear. Just like the previous antlers, these are texture change to twelve different lovely options.

The entire reason I made these, though, was that curly antlers are fabulous for decorating with baubles. I've been wanting to make properly decorated holiday antlers for a couple years now and the time was finally right!

These... are so much fun to play with. The antlers themselves are scripted to change, but so are the decorations! I owe a shout out to Sobriquet Kryakutnoy, for without him you would have no Multi option (shown). I would have had to make them a whole separate pair of antlers or something, so major kudos to him. Aside from the festive multi-color version, you can play with having white lights and blue ornaments, red lights and red ornaments, green, white, whatever! There are twelve options to play with to make these antlers incredibly versatile, which makes them awesome to wear through the whole month and not only on those days you feel like wearing the classic red and green.

The gorgeous and talented Evangeline Miles kindly demonstrated this in a few pictures on her plurk ♥

Sunday, December 13, 2009

I'm trying to hard to get into the spirit of the season, but my muse is like a hyperactive St Bernard and I'm just trying to keep her on a leash, much less going the right direction.

Yesterday I did have success in reeling her in and I worked on some adorable curly toed elf shoes.

These are the perfect things to wear with tights or silly pants. They're unisex so they can be worn by both men and women, and they change texture to five different colors, and twelve different options total. There's a nice minty green, an icey blue, white, black, and the red that's shown. Each of the colors comes with the option for a white cuff or a colored cuff, and it's really fun to alternate them especially if you have parti-colored tights!

I adore curly toed shoes in real life, and making these was so much fun I think I'll be making more in the future (and in more colors).

For more general updates, I've updated the prices on miscellaneous older items throughout the store. I've also added scripts to the old Phoenix and Seraphim masks so there's no more need for fatpacks.

Also, the thing my muse keeps wanting to run off on is the new event hall build. So far its coming along beautifully, and things might be changing around the sim suddenly. The store probably won't be touched but the old event hall might not be here very long >.>

Friday, December 4, 2009

Just a quick update to acknowledge that yes, it IS December (as if everyone clambering over each other to put out red and green things and drown you in candy canes wasn't reminder enough), I've put out the Lussinat crown and the reindeer antlers from last year for the holiday season! If you've forgotten what they look like, here's a refresher:

They're joined by the old old Merry Jingly and Snowflake coats which have held up surprisingly well against the Whim of Retiring Doom. However... the holly jewelry didn't make it. I really haven't been in the mood to work on remaking it but I think I'll wrestle myself into it in the next week.

I've also gotten some questions about whether I'm going to do another limited edition like last year. The Odocoleinae Lumina have become almost legendary and are certainly a tough act to follow. To tell the truth I'm not sure if I have it in me for something else as epicly awesome as those. If I can dream up something awe inspiring, I'll do my best, but no promises! I'm only just getting my creative muse back after the flurry of October and the rigor of the roses and I don't want to chase her off with another enormous project.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the states! And happy autumn to those who aren't! I hope everyone enjoyed the colors of fall, and before you guys bundle up too much and start putting snowflakes on your sweaters you should pick up some deceased plant matter and wear it on your head.

A piece of autumn color from someone lucky enough to be where leaves turn :) The texture for these leaves was from a particularly stunning leaf I found while walking near where I live, and maples always have better color than those dowdy oaks! If you didn't get the group notice, you can grab it out of the notice history tab in the group info of Masqueraderie.

As thanksgiving is a time to appreciate what you have, but I also have potatoes to peel and a turkey in the oven, I will keep this short. I can't tell you how much you (yes you), contribute to my life just by reading these words, following my new releases and buying things with your hard earned $L. I've said before and I'll say it again that this is my passion, my RL job, and if I wasn't doing this I'd probably be waiting tables or sitting in the pale glow of fluorescent lights while doing something I found horribly boring. So thank you for letting me do something I love, and thank youfor appreciating what I bring to SL. If it wasn't for you, I doubt I would be anywhere near as happy as I am. It may be mushier than canned yams, but garsh darn it it's true.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Today for Bonfire night and the 5th of November, there's a sort of movement going on in the fashion community. There's been a buzz, more than usual, about Creator's Rights and copyright protection. There are a couple of groups that have been created to promote awareness about theft and supporting content creators.

Honestly, I don't think the message is going to reach the people who actually need to hear it. The worst culprits of theft probably aren't even aware of fashion feeds, and Linden Lab couldn't be bothered with whatever action we try to take. Munchflower Zaius and Stroker Serpentine are already taking the best action available as far as LL is concerned: a class action suit.

So what is there left? I know I certainly want to spread awareness of real artists and protect our content from being ripped and redistributed, but really what is there to do?

As a customer and a shopper, the best thing you can do (in my humble opinion) is simply to be aware of who you are buying from. Familiarize yourself with some of the tell-tale signs of resellers and rippers, and with popular prefab sculpt packs. Before you plop down lindens for something you really like ask yourself who you're paying the money to. There aren't surefire ways to tell if a store is legit, but if there are multiple red flags in one place, it might be better to teleport away and find somewhere else to get that tank top.

Real artists have a dedication to their work, a love for what they do, and a passion for their products. And I feel these are the people you should seek out, support, and buy from when you can. And when you find that the insecurity of the grid has been exploited at the detriment of these people, speak up and let the artist know. Even if they've probably heard about it a hundred times, there's always the chance that they haven't.

Really that's all. It's not a grand gesture, it's just a constant effort. As a shopper, even if you never speak to a content creator, wearing their items is a badge of support and an endorsement. So thank you, however you are showing your support today, thank you.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

For the past few weeks, I have poured more time and effort than ever before into an event mask. I had a rough idea what I was in for, but even planning ahead and allowing extra time ended with me finishing them a mere four hours before the masquerade began. For the past week I literally woke up, worked on this, (grabbed a snack), and fell asleep.

I had a vision of not only a skull mask, but an entire skull.. and not just a skull but the neck as well. I wanted its beautifully asymmetrical and jagged vertebrae raw and exposed for all to see. This did mean tackling invisiprims, which are a kludgey, glitchy, and sometimes hideous thing to deal with. People tolerate them on their shoes, but would they tolerate them in a more visible spot, like the face? I'd have to make it worth their time.

I've been learning both new sculpting techniques but most especially texturing, which has allowed me to delicately paint and utilize sources in new ways, which allows me a whole new level of realism. I didn't want a perfectly photosourced look (I don't think it works too well in SL), but I adore the detail it brings to my already smooth and stylized textures.The differences between the male and female masks might not be immediately evident, it's mostly in the collar, the jaw, and the shape of the invisiprims. I wouldn't suggest trading genders in the case of these; the shapes are quite specifically formed to the respective meshes.

Amusingly, you can wear hair with these, which can sometimes work out wonderfully and sometimes disastrously. I suggest you experiment with different styles, if at all, because obviously it works well on its own.

Another option you can try it with is just with the neck piece, which I've been quite enjoying. Sometimes you want a touch of the macabre, but don't want to hide that gorgeous face you spent so long tweaking and finding the perfect skin for.

If these go well I might consider doing other skeletal pieces like hands or an arm. The issue here is where are people willing to tolerate invisiprims? They're not the best solution, but they're currently the only ones.

I'm also so exhausted from this month I think I'm going to go crawl in a hole for a little while.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Last night was the Masque of the Dead, and Carnivale welcomed back some of the most notorious ghosts and departed wraiths this side of the Cornfield. We danced the night away, making sure to not step on each other's feet even though some might have been strewn across the floor.

The costumes were amazing as always, I'm consistently impressed with how well people are able to work around the limits and get creative with concept and execution.

Looking at my own pictures, honestly Carthalis Rossini and Arilynn Karu both out did me, those crafty cadavers.

Mabb was so well received as a once beheaded and long dead French aristocrat, that she was crowned Queen of the Dead. Carthalis joined her as the King.

The deathly duo of Mourna Biziou and Achariya, the twin dolls were also awarded a pair of Queen of the Dead masks, in honor of them coming in at a very close tie/second. The horns were awarded with the masks, however they won't be available with the actual for-sale version; I needed something to make my own costume grander so I dug in for my personal horns.

Me and Selos before the Masque

Thank you to everyone who came. No matter how long you stayed or how much you spoke, you were most welcome and I hope you enjoyed seeing the dearly departed back in the mortal realm. Even if they smelled a bit funny.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Just in time for Halloween! I've been working like a mad woman preparing for the Masque of the Dead, as well as trying to get just one last release out before the big day. I certainly seem to be in a Terry Pratchett mindset, so I figured I'd just embrace it for this mask.

Back when I had my tiny mask store in the sky (in the mainland sim of Plio) I had a big collection of skully things. I had scythes, masks, capes etc, and when I retired them they were missed. I've made a couple of attempts to make skulls since then but now I feel I've learned enough and pushed myself far enough to make something I'm happy with.

It's unisex, so it looks great on both men and women, but it's not very nose friendly. Due to the nature of the nose, I couldn't bring it out much farther without it not looking right. I did the best I could, but ye of the pointy shnozzles might want to try the demo first, and make sure your shape is mod.

It's texture change and changes to nine colors, which are a somewhat different array of colors than my usual jewel tones. They include classic black, white, bone (shown) and red, but also a more adventurous variety of old bronze. My favorite is the black and white:

And did I mention it looks totally kick ass with the Khimar hood? Nah... 'cause it didn't need to be said ;)

Friday, October 23, 2009

I've just completed some fabulous new witchy hats just in time for Halloween! I released them last night, but some technical issues with blogger had me hung up, posting-wise. They shouldn't have taken me so long, my RL has been so darned eventful (in a good way!) I haven't been able to focus on buckling down and just working on these. This week I forcefully made some time, and finally finished these troublesome chapeaus.

I like the name my witchy hats after famous witches, and in this case I've named them after the infamous trio in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.

Agnes is a rather plain girl, very sensible but she longs for a mystical life with candles and seances and love potions. This hat has an eldrytch sense of age to it, maybe a bit musty, and is certainly perfect for witches and wizards alike. If you're thinking of going for a costume from the Harry Potter-verse, this would be perfect.

Like pretty much everything I make these days, it's scripted to change texture on touch to twelve different colors. Included are black, gray, white, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple and a soft pink.

If it's a little simple for you, this one is my favorite of the three:Gytha is playful, wise, charming and drunkenly hilarious. The name might not fit so well, considering the Tim Burtonesque curl and the stylized shape, but when I thought about it Gytha would certainly be fabulous enough to wear this hat. She would also be able to fit a good sized kitten under it, as she often does.

Also, I just wanted to mention that I'm well aware that my friend Allegory just released a similar hat, and before anyone tries to call foul I think we'd both just like to say that great minds think alike :) We both worked independently on them and we're quite okay with our respective hats peacefully coexisting. Hers have some very playful colorations too, so if you're in the mood for orange and green stripes or something you're welcome to take a look.

An utterly practical witch, Granny Weatherwax is a clever and no-nonsense force of nature. She won't give people what they want, she'll give them what they need. She has a commanding presence and seems taller than she actually is... could it be the hat?

I had to stretch the demo frame on this one higher than ever, you'll be tickling the rafters on this one! Like the other hats the band and hat have the same 12 colors, but on this one the buckle changes as well, to your choice of silver, gold, or tarnished black.

Now please excuse me, I must attune my Botanical crystals to the leylines of the sim. The sun is coming into trine with the Star of Neko and the constellation Freenis.

Monday, October 19, 2009

I was sitting on this post for a bit, until I could figure out how to finish it.

October 14th marked my third year in Second Life. So I threw a little shindig on the Indigo Rose the other day, and took a little time to reminisce about how much has changed since then. That's what rezdays are for!

When I first logged on, I was ugly as hell (but enjoyed making outfits out of the freebies I did have), and after some fumbling and camping and other noobie things I found refuge on the Limbo sim and made my first objects. The first rose I made, was a mere ten days after I joined. Varda coming out around the same time is a very happy and appropriate coincidence!

I'm excited for another year. It's hard to imagine what ways I'm going to change and what I'm going to learn and pick up. Evolution is impossible to avoid when you push yourself as hard as you can towards excellence. So here's to the hope of perfection... one of the things that keeps me going :)

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Do you remember back in mid-June, I posted that I had a lot of big projects in the works and I couldn't really talk about them?

Well, Hedera was one of them, but the other... I have only just finished.

My teaser in August really didn't do them justice. This is a project that has been almost three years in the making, through slow and steady evolution and a fanatical desire to achieve perfection. Cutting to the chase, MY ROSES ARE FRICKIN' DONE!I wanted them done back during the summer... I wanted them done at least in time for Jewelry Fair... but at least I've got them done in time to honor my rez day. I say three years because first thing I ever made was a rose made out of cylinder slivers, textured with that satin texture from the library! What better way to celebrate my third year in SL.

Each rose is painstakingly sculpted (I do mean pained, this took me ages) out of unique sculpts. Each petal is a different sculpt, each rose is a slightly different rose, each leaf, each stem, each petal, each and every damn thing placed as close to perfect as my sanity would allow. So please, do adorn yourself with them.

There are thirty six different colors for the rose petals, 20 of which were carefully matched to real rose colors that actually exist. Natural roses range from deep reds to brighter vermillions, into soft mauves and pinks and then more vibrant apricots and corals. I did my best to capture every color as faithfully as I could, so that everyone's favorite rose could be represented. I played with the leaves and stem textures too, and came up with six that were both beautiful and fun to combine with the petals. My favorite is the "red branch", I have no idea what it is called but it's very common for roses to have burgundy stems and branches with red tinged leaves, and I tried to capture that. There's also brown dead leaves, two shades of green, and the omnipresent black and white.

The mask has unique colors too, and has a range pretty close to the natural roses. I tried to make sure there was a match for most of the rose colors, and I even included a specific coloring for the red branches, which is shown up in the jewelry picture. The mask is my first attempt at a torus mask with no middle bridge... so please forgive the seam. I did my best to conceal it but sculpts are only so precise.

If having a mask, necklace, and earrings made of roses isn't enough for you, I've made a range of hair accessories so you can really load yourself down. People won't be able to get near you unless they want to be near a perfumerie.

A modest hair clip, and a possible blast from the past for anyone who still has the old hair rose. I wanted to add a bit of something so that the bloom had some context, so I added leaves and sepals (the petals that cup the bud). But the single hair rose is so small and modest, it'd be fun to go a bit bigger.

This is perfect for dressing up an updo a bit, or clipping to the back of a long hair to give a splash of color. I can imagine it being positioned on a bun with the roses set to white for a wedding and being stunning. But even that isn't necessarily big enough to really show up on some long hairs, so I made a larger barrette with stems coming down:And just so you can have your options, because the cascading blooms is such a lovely effect, if you want them closer to your face there's always this...

Yes, it's a "hair adornment", after using up "clip" and "barrette" my limited lexicon of decorative hair terminology was spent. This is the piece shown up in that first picture though, which makes a beautiful frame for a beautiful face.

Each of these hair ornaments comes with three different attachment points, so you have your choice to work around your lashes, piercings etc. This is only with the copiable choice though, so if you choose transfer you will only end up with one fit.

For the purists, and those who love to tango, you can also have your rose on the side, as god intended (just genetically mutilated all to hell through generations of careful breeding)

Changes texture as well, comes on the hand and mouth, geezus this is a long post... I'll just finish up quick. I'm also making available the long stem roses in red at a discount rate, unscripted and transferable so you can buy a pack to pass flirtatiously to fancy ladies or as part of your roleplay. This is only available in red at the store, but any of the other colors is available at the same prices upon request.

And this post doesn't need any more pictures, but the boutonniere is back. Oh, yes, and "Varda" means rose in hebrew, it was much more creative than just calling them "rose" and much less evocative of skin conditions than "rosacea".

And now to just reiterate... HOMG THEY'RE DONE! THEY'RE DONE! HALLELUJAH

Friday, September 25, 2009

I went through my store today and did a bit of redecorating! The furniture that was out had to be from two years ago, and I had been playing with my own Rococo inspired furniture for my sim build. For the past few months it's just been sitting in my hobbit house, so I figured what the hell, might as well put it out in the store.

I haven't even touched my sim model in four months or more, I haven't felt that I could devote the time. As a result, it's very likely that the Mardi Gras masque will not have been the last party to be thrown in the current hall, but no promises. I might just tear it down anyway, build the full scale version of the model's event hall and just let it be a stand alone piece for now.

I've added a little bargain wall that has items priced at 50L or lower. I've lowered the price of my Sweetheart Cloche to 50L, and put a few items that have been floating around wherever I could stick them over there. I also pulled out a very old piece from my inventory that I never really formally set out: the Smokey veil.

Actually, I can't remember, did I ever put this out? No idea... but anyway, it's languishing, and its original form in normal prims was incredibly popular. The reason it's been sitting for so long is that there are some minor texture problems that were driving me batty, and what are the chances of no alpha conflict with bangs?

But you know, it's darn pretty, and that's what a bargain wall is for. It might give me a chance to release a few other things that have little bothers like this one. It's 50L tucked around the corner where the moustaches are.

I took down the old pirate head sign, it was cheeky but it didn't say what I wanted to say. I know that the unscrupulous sorts who would steal are going to find a way to anyway... but it's the people who can be led to believe it's alright that worry me. It's a slippery slope and I want to remind folks who've been tempted that the items you clearly love enough to purchase are worth purchasing again. Circumventing permissions in any way is a slap in the face to the original artist. Content creators like myself honestly need every cent. None of us are Anshe Chung, and even the people who are part of the big fashion houses have bills to pay.

As my new sign says, ripping content in SL is like stealing a kid's macaroni picture. It may have no real value to you, and it may be easy for you, but it can break a person's heart. The time and effort and creativity that goes into something we put out for a pittance is all born out of love for what we're doing. And I know that I for one thank the powers that be every day that I can do this for a job, but I wouldn't be able to do it without every person who trades me a few lindens for a piece of my soul. I'd hope that that's a bargain. I'm also quite happy that my soul seems to be big enough to go around :)

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Halloween is coming up once again. And of course, as well all know, the spirit world is closer than ever to meeting with the real world on that night. Does that count for the virtual world as well?

On Friday, October 30th, the barrier between the worlds of life and death will waver, and the spirits of those departed will venture into mortal halls, to caper and dance like they once did.

Come back from the ether of the afterlife to be "lively" again. Be you a ghost or ghast, a wraith or revenant, you will be welcome to dance your feet off!

And then you can pick them up, put them back on and dance some more.

But please, no vampires. Vampires have never shuffled off the mortal coil, and still enjoy the luxury that so many spirits are denied. Do not rub your good fortune in the faces of those who don't get to enjoy the mortal world on a daily basis! Zombies are more than welcome, as long as you promise to pick up your pieces should you shed them.

When assembling your costume, please keep these rules in mind. These rules have worked exceedingly well for former events, even with the sim at capacity! So please, do respect them. For the sake of all of us, if each party-goer abides by them we should all be able to dance and camera around without molasses.

Please keep your prim attachments in total to 200 or less.

You can double check how close you are to the limit by using build, and holding down shift to click each item you're wearing. The build window will display the collected total of those prims.

Streamline your AO, or leave it at home

Nobody likes looking like a noob while being a wallflower. However, if you don't plan to dance, fill a veritably lag free, low prim ZHAOII with your two or three favorite stands. You don't need a walk or any other anim if you're not moving. Otherwise, just go without.

No particles, and no listening scriptsTurn that bling off, and make sure you don't have any items on you that respond to chat commands. Try to avoid scripted items at all if possible.

As always, there will be a costume contest, determined by vote, to vie for the title of King and Queen of the Dead. Two previously unreleased, themed masks will be awarded as the prizes, along with 1500L each.

Make sure you join the group early, do not put it off because you don't have a group slot. Spots will go surprisingly fast, and I will refuse to add a single soul more than 50. I will, however, have a waiting list just in case anyone leaves the group, which has happened before. There will still be hope to get in even if you hear about it too late.

Masks are required, but a freebie mask will be included, which is the mask shown in the invite. I know the costume rules are tough to follow, especially when it's so tempting to go for the excess, but I have the utmost faith in your creativity to be able to work around the limitations, and flourish. I can't wait to see you there.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Both RL and my obligations to the Jewelry Fair itself have been interfering incredibly with my production, and so I'm very sorry to say I didn't get everything done that I had hoped. I really thought and hoped that I would be able to get my roses done and out and completed but there's just too far to go with them for me to be able to get them out tonight. I'm going away for the weekend, but when I get back I am going to do my best to get them out during the fair.

Despite my delays, I have some other treats I'm incredibly excited to share. Everything is currently only available there, but it will all be out in the main store come the 27th, with the exception of the freebie (which you don't want to miss).

First off: something simple, which Vasean Talamasca suggested to me and I realized was a fantastic idea. He wanted a simple cord, no more than a string, wrapped around his neck. After torturing an oblong sculpt for a few hours, I had the absolute perfect piece of casual jewelry! Just one prim, you can wear it with absolutely any outfit. Grunge, goth, punk, trendy, couture, I couldn't think of a single outfit that it couldn't go with. Which is why, of course, I had to make bracelets and arm cuffs!

At one prim, this is the sort of thing you actually could wear to the fair, if your skin just seems too bare without your baubles. They're not available separately, you get all in one for 175L. They're texture change, even though I love the black, so you can add a bit of color in my usual range of 12. They're unisex too, obviously, since they were made from a guy's suggestion, and come in small and large sizes.

That's relatively simple though... and after everything I've learned in just a year from my middle eastern jewelry I wanted to take another crack at something incredibly delicate and ornate. A year ago, I didn't have oblongs, and most of my metal textures were the same across everything. Well.. I went nuts, and have created something that is both intricately detailed and dramatic.

Orinthia truly needs a closer look to see everything that has gone into it. Delicate leaves encircle a luminous stone, with chains trailing from elegant filigree. In keeping with the Secret Garden theme of the jewelry fair, leaves hang from the center and the sides, framing and accenting the pendant. Instead of simple earrings, which didn't seem quite enough for a pendant like this, I opted for full ear cuffs. Paired with an updo, the effect is unique yet timeless.

I'm not done yet though.

This has to be one of my favorite pieces of jewelry I've ever made, if not the favorite. One of the problems with bracelets in SL is that they can just disappear on the wrist. A simple tennis bracelet can be so perfect while you're setting up an outfit, but as soon as you zoom out, you can forget it's ever there. Well, I dare you to miss this on your wrist! This one really makes a statement. And I think it goes along the lines of "hot damn I love jewelry".

Rings have a similar problem to bracelets, if not much worse, in that the hands are so far from a focus that rings, unless they have sentimental value, are an easy accessory to forget in SL. That's when sometimes bigger really is better. This isn't enormous or unwieldy (why would I do that?) but I have to say it's eye catching, especially when paired with the bracelet.

Lastly, a simple chain arm band, which I think is a nice accent when you have statement pieces everywhere else. Delicate and feminine, it dangles down the arm and adds a sense of unity to the set.

Currently only available at the fair, if you miss out don't worry, it'll be in the store on the 27th. However, this won't.Available for free at my booth! It's a simple reverse teardrop necklace called Aurelie, and it's scripted with the same stones and metals as Orinthia and should serve as a perfect test drive to my new textures. Plus, its a darn flexible and nifty bit of casual jewelry. I found myself wearing this one around almost as often as the cord necklace (damn it they're both so versatile!). SO HEAD OVER TO MY BOOTH ALREADY!

Jewelry Fair officially opens today! So everyone can see my hard work, on both the build and my jewelry. I'm going to be spammy and do two posts though.

I built the damn thing, so I'm rather proud of how I've managed to keep everything as simple as possible, yet as pretty as I could. No sculpts were used throughout, everything is the most primitive shapes, and the same 10 textures were used absolutely everywhere I could. The design is basically a labyrinth with one contiguous path that will lead you through all of the stalls, as well as event areas such as one of a kind auctions, the dunk tank, and the kissing booth. The auctions, dunk tank, select items, and everything that isn't going to a jeweler is all going to benefit Oxfam International.

My booth is Winter 15, which is pretty easy to find since I stuck it right by one of the Slurls. Hey, I'm not getting paid for this, so I deserve a perk :)~So head on over, grab the freebie (which I should have described in the post above this one), and have fun!

Friday, September 4, 2009

So many busy things that can't be talked about lest I jinx them! If you're wondering when you're going to see the gorgeousness I teased at in my last post, you're going to have to wait until Jewelry Fair :)

As I always do, I'm working on completely new jewelry for the fair, and the roses are part of it. I'm also working on a few other things, all within the theme of the Secret Garden.

But since its been so darn long since I just worked on something and then put it out (curse you, monstrously huge projects!) I wanted to get something relatively simple done. And then of course, the simple things are never that simple. But, I've finished a festive bit of fun, (which I'm very happy with), called the Diamonte.

Omgosh it has proper eye holes! This is a rather evolved experiment (from many other scrapped ones) in creating a mask with two torii for eyes (yeah yeah technical talk blah blah). As a result, it fits many more faces and has crisper edges around the eyes, as well as more flexibility for eye shapes. For the next masks I do, you can sort of expect me playing around with how to make three or more prims all look like one solid mask.

The eyes, forehead and trim are all changeable on touch independantly, so that if you'd like to have a solid red mask you most certainly can, but you can also play with combinations. I've added a nice new metal to the trims as well, a warm bronze texture (from a Zbrush matcap... gawjuss!). That's another thing you might see more of soon :)~

I hope to get a few other, smaller projects out before Jewelry Fair (opening the 18th!) but if not, I'm not dead, I'm just pining for the fjords.

Monday, August 17, 2009

I've volunteered to do the build for the upcoming jewelry fair, which has me a bit preoccupied and sadly distracted from making a few things I had in the works. If anyone is wondering, I'm doing my best to keep things simple and minimalist while still as pretty as possible with as few textures as possible. It's a challenge but its sort of fun to be working with normal prims again!

I have a few things up in the air, I feel a bit bad about being so vague for so long but when I've been open about what I had in the works I've felt pressured. I still remember my teasing riddles for my antlers ending up being about six months early. That was embarrassing...

But I'd like to think it's pretty safe to offer a teaser when I've reached the point where a release is inevitable, even if it takes some time to get the pieces together. And I think I've just about reached that point with one of my projects that's been a while in the making:

Coming soon, my roses will be back :) Hopefully just barely in time to still be in summer! They're better than ever, and I am very proud of them so far. I just have to figure out creative ways for you to stick them all over your body now.

Another piece of news is that I'll be somewhat kidnapped for about three weeks. I've been called upon for federal jury duty starting later this month and that will definitely curtail my creating time and motivation. It's not like the releases have been pouring out of me lately or anything, but its just a heads up.

Monday, July 27, 2009

This project, which started out with something as innocent as a bracelet, has become a voracious vortex of vegetation, demanding I make piece after piece after piece until it has finally had its way with me. I've been working on this pretty much straight through the month, without really being able to focus on anything else until this was done. That's one of the reasons I've been so silent.

You may now adorn yourself with ivy. As my friend Selos joked, I've been out of world so much that my avatar has become overgrown.

This set is a big landmark for me, because it includes something I've never before done in an accessories set.... clothing.

The clothing textures took me more time than the rest of the sculpting and texturing combined. It's a huge jump for me to take, seeing as how textures have never been my strong suit, nor a very enjoyable task for me. My meager skills in that department needed some serious exercise and butt kickery to get them anywhere near the quality I demand from everything in my store. After more lindens spent in upload fees than I can count, as well as draft upon draft that never even were good enough to make it in world, I was finally able to rest and say "those seams are good enough, damnit".

Each prim piece is painstakingly made especially to the avatar mesh, so that they should be super easy to fit. Even the chest vines that curl around the breasts should be able to handle even the biggest girls with only minimal clipping. I also made sure to keep my prim sizes relatively large, so that every piece is able to be modded down to fit even my pixie shapes. The individual pieces vary in price based on complexity from 45L to 175L, with the complete set being a quite reasonable 950L.

The panties that go on under the loin cloth are only available in the complete set. There are other perks exclusive to buying it all in one, like multiple clothing layers for the bra and panties, a "bare foot" size for the foot vines, and multiple attachment points for the ear cuffs (yes there are ear cuffs) so that you can wear them with the earrings and get a multi layered effect :)

If you're more of a minimalist, or on a budget, the necklace and earrings will give you at least the impression of that dryad look without needing to be weeded. The necklace comes with delicately trailing vines which hang off your shoulder, and are completely optional (they have a separate attachment)

(By the way, the stunning black skin in that picture is from Blowpop's new skin series, called Maya. I love it to pieces and you'll probably be seeing a lot more of it from me)

You'll also just have to see the enormous wall of all of your options... happy shopping :)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

My work ethic is like soap. The harder I grab on to it, to try to make things, the faster it goes *squip!* out of my hands. However! I have some good news. As I have relaxed (through copious procrastination) I have made great progress on two projects which have been my sole focus for the past month, one of which is very close to being completed.

I might be too close to it to see it neutrally by now, but as much as I'd like to say it is epic and huge, it is probably not that epic, nor huge. I have managed to accomplish something that a majority of content creators do easily, and quickly, and it took me more time than the rest of my project put together. Hopefully, in the long run it will prove to be a learning experience, and what it adds to the project will be worth the time.

Now, I don't normally post teasers, but I also don't normally go silent for almost a month at a time!Coming soon to a purple mask store near you...

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Today I received my first notice of copyright infringement from the DMCA department, which is something I was never expecting to see. After I swallowed that "wtf!?" moment, it actually wasn't so bad. Apparently even Frank Sinatra's name is licensed, and so my naming a fedora after him was in violation of Warner Music's copyright. So from now on the "Sinatra" fedora is going to be the "Corleone" fedora, something I'm updating even as I type this.

It's no biggie, so I won't bother making a fuss. What's in a name, after all? But I wanted to make a notice here so that there was no confusion, and also satisfy curiosities (maybe serve as a little warning to anyone else wanting to dedicate anything to the Chairman of the Board).

Also, update on current projects... I'm working on a few things that are ending up bigger than I initially thought, which makes me think I should release another smaller project while I'm working on these. Unfortunately, that's exactly how a few of these started, so I don't want to place myself in the way of temptation and end up with even more enormous projects O.o

Friday, June 19, 2009

I have had some big projects in the works lately, the ears took me forever with so many delays... my sim build has been in the works for six months, and I have a secret project which is taking longer than I was hoping too. So I felt the need to just finish something simple and interesting which I could just release without any complications.

I've been wanting to really make a blindfold for a while now, the one I have for sale for 20L was just something I made very quickly. I think they have a beautiful mystique about them though, and I've always wanted to do it more justice.

With the coaxing of Selos I managed to get the silk texture just perfect. It doesn't go all the way around the head, only to the ears, in order to make sure that its compatible with all hairs. This way it fits a wide variety of heads and is unisex. I'd like to do one that works with hair someday soon, but that certainly doesn't qualify as a quick and simple project!

It's scripted to change texture to twelve different jewel tones, so that you can match whatever outfit you like. It really seems to lend an ethereal and mystical air to your avatar, or maybe just a kinky one.

Along with that one though, I wanted to try a different kind of blindfold.

It could be one of those little masks you wear over your eyes when you go to sleep, or it could be used in the bedroom for "other purposes". Whatever you like you're welcome to try, personally I like this one because I made the trim able to be changed to a different color than the rest of the mask. I know some people have asked that I make a lack of eyes an option with some of my masks, and if you wanted to you could wear this one underneath in order to get that effect.

I won't be retiring my old satin blindfold, I think it still has its place as a bargain piece, but I'm lowering the price now to 10L :) These two new ones are now for sale in the main store for 95L each ^.^

Monday, June 15, 2009

The first annual Fantasy Faire is starting today, and despite my intense procrastination, some groveling and last minute scrabbling netted me a stall on the Elvencourt sim! I would offer a slurl, but no matter where it's made it always ends up at the landing point. I'm in stall 15 next to Evangeline Miles of Evie's Closet, and I couldn't have asked for a nicer neighbor (her latest dresses have only been getting more beautiful, wonderful job).

As a part of participating in the faire, we were asked to donate the full proceeds of two items to Relay for Life. My contributions are a limited edition recolor of Titania and Oberon.

They're only available at my stall at the expo, for 500L each. They'll be available until the 22nd, when the fair closes. Obviously I did a new color theme for them that's different from the soft blues, but I also changed the greenery around the crowns to new leaves that are a luscious natural green.

Aside from the masks, I also am proud to say I finally have completed my elfin ear update. After more mistakes, remakes, script edits, permission errors, hold ups, hang ups, pitfalls and near misses than I can count, they're out. The actual structure of the ears and earrings hasn't changed at all, but the scripts have. I've consolidated the TRAP, Drow, and Aether skins all into one mega pack of skin tones titled Fantasy, as well as added new tones from some of the more popular skin makers that I received tone requests for. The Naturals received a major, major tune up, and instead of a paltry twelve tones, they now have over seventy skin tones by designers such as Abyss, Nomine, Fleur and Curio.

With the new collections of skin tones, I've excused myself a slight price hike in the cost of a custom tone. I'm going to make it 100L, because when I first set my price I never anticipated it to be as much of a time sink and a chore as it has become. To those that currently have ear tone requests open with me, I will be giving you a new pair of the upgraded ears in hopes that one of the tones will suit your skin. If not, then you will still only be charged the original 50L price, but that's only for ear tone requests received before today.

Please let me know if you do find errors in the ears, or the vendors, despite my testing them as much as I can I still seem to miss things. The sooner I'm made aware of errors in permissions or scripts the faster I can fix them!

The upgraded ears are now out at both the fair and the store, I'll be sending a notice out to the group as well as updating the signage nearby but right now I'm just going to go collapse somewhere :)

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